ZAM is at GDC this week and had the opportunity to chat with the EverQuest franchise Director of Development Dave Georgeson about the near future of EverQuest Next Landmark. Some of the highlights, including the closed beta date annoncement, are:

Closed beta begins on March 26!

Community feedback has impacted some development decisions on EQNext and Landmark

Currently an alpha player? The last day for alpha is Sunday, March 23, and a three day downtime will be the lull between alpha and closed beta. Dave Georgeson had this to say:

To get ready for the end of Alpha, we *highly recommend* that you template any items on your claims that you want to resurrect during Closed Beta. Consider templating things with props, without props, and possibly even re-textured as dirt or something simple so that you can rebuild it easily when you have few resources available. (NOTE: When the claims are wiped at the end of Alpha, we will be templating each of your claims for you, BUT many of your claims require vast amounts of resources before they can be placed so it still might be beneficial for you to go in and make individual templates to make it easier to restore pieces of your claim as you gain resources.)

What will the data wipe entail? EVERYTHING will be wiped...except your character name, your templates and any items you purchased (Founder's Pack items or marketplace purchases). Yes, that means everything else. When Closed Beta begins, you will need to choose a new appearance, gather new resources, craft new tools and make new claims from scratch again. Everyone starts at the same place.